New to the platform, so just got a beginner question cause I can’t seem to find the right answers.
I have been doing some training now for aprox 1 week on my new Zwift ride at home.
A little about me: 33 years of age, 118 kg, 191 cm high. Not been doing consistent training for 8 years.
The last couple of races I see some improvement, but w/kg is still maintained at 1.4 kg/w and I’m absolut destroyed no matter if it’s a hilly route or flat. My watts is around 170 avg. I’m doing 80-85 RPM in gear 15 on flat route and 12 gear 80 RPM on 3-5% hilly routes. And my heart rate is avg. 150-160
My questions is does it seem realistic that I can’t perform better? Or is something wrong. Obviously I’m high in weight and in bad shape, but I still see people with high weigths perform insane w/kg. I know get some benefit doing the draft, which I lack most of the races cause im getting dropped after 2-3 km.
My gear: Zwift ride- Big fan in the face - Cold water rdy every race - Riding with clamps
I’m still very motivated cause either way it can only get better from here.
None of those figures look absurdly low for a new rider. Especially after only a week. Better and more sustained performance will come with repetition - but don’t overdo it.
And races - Zwift races are nothing like real races. Zwift races are always max effort from the go. Try mixing it with doing some robopacer rides or a workout program.
You shouldn’t measure your improvement over the course of a week. Give yourself months to develop your fitness, and some gains will keep coming over the course of years of regular riding. If you haven’t been riding, gradually increasing your time on the bike at low intensity will help a lot. Social group rides that are well within your capabilities can be a good way to achieve that. The most important thing is to find some ways to enjoy what you are doing so you look at the bike and want to get on it.
This is normal, your 170w will give you around 1.44w/kg.
The other folks with high weights may also have been training for a lot longer and they have strength in their legs. You just have to keep riding a lot. As much as you can per week, regular activity is the key to start the changes happening.
It’s going to be a tough slog. I can remember starting out riding bikes before Zwift even existed, coming from a zero base of no fitness, no physical activity at all and joining one of the fastest groups in my area, they went slow enough not to leave me behind, but I almost died every time I rode with them, heart rate always 170-180bpm!
Eventually I got fitter and faster after a year or so and became decent at bike handling. And I dropped 30kg weight.
Makes sense i’m not that concerned either. It actually gives me more motivation hitting the bike which im doing 4 times a week for 30-40 mins pr. time at the moment.
And hitting the gym for 3 times.
So consistency it is and getting smoked for months is absolutely normal I get that. And considering the way I have treated my body for last years no surprise im out of shape.
Just keep going, and stop comparing yourself to others on Zwift - which is natural to do, but bear in mind setups vary all the way from very accurate to ridiculously inaccurate.
There will be plenty of others on Zwift in a similar position to you, just that you won’t necessarily see them on the road with you often.
You are pretty much a mirror image of where I was when I started. Same weight, same height, similar power. You’ll progress quickly as you get beginner gains in your fitness. If you stick with it regularly over the next year or so I wouldn’t be surprised to see you add 70-80w onto that average power. Maybe even 100w.
